The Committee for Justice (CFJ) stated that in the last months of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Egypt’s State Security Prosecution referred more than 130 cases to criminal trials, involving over 5,000 defendants. All these cases were transferred to the Criminal Court and Terrorism Circuits, which are known for their leniency in accepting unreliable evidence and their failure to provide fair defense opportunities for the accused.
What is particularly alarming is that these cases encompass a wide spectrum of Egyptian society, including human rights defenders, opposition politicians, journalists, writers, economists, trade unionists, lawyers, workers, youth, women, children, and the elderly from various governorates—from Sinai to Matrouh and Upper Egypt, passing through Greater Cairo. Among them, some have already served prison sentences of up to ten years, only to find themselves accused again of the same charges or new fabricated ones. Others have been subjected to pretrial detention for over five years in multiple cases, in clear violation of both the Egyptian Constitution and national laws.
Instead of releasing these individuals after the legal expiration of their pretrial detention, the authorities have resorted to referring them to criminal trials as a means of continuing their imprisonment. This strategy is intended to bypass legal restrictions and ensure their indefinite detention. Moreover, these referrals pave the way for trials that lack the most basic standards of justice, as this massive number of cases is being heard by only two court circuits, making it impossible to allocate sufficient time to examine the evidence, hear pleadings, and allow for an adequate defense that ensures justice for the accused.
In this context, CFJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to cease the practice of recycling charges (known as “rotation of detention”), which the Public Prosecution uses to circumvent the law and keep detainees in custody even after they have completed their sentences.
The committee also urges the Egyptian judiciary to adhere to international standards of justice, including granting defendants and their lawyers full access to case files, allowing them to review the evidence against them, and ensuring a fair defense process that guarantees their legal rights.
Furthermore, CFJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all defendants in these fabricated cases, as well as all individuals arbitrarily detained based on vague and unjustified accusations. CFJ also stresses the importance of respecting judicial independence and not using it as a tool to punish political and human rights activists.
CFJ further highlights the need to improve prison conditions in line with national laws and international human rights standards. Detainees suffer from inhumane conditions, including deprivation of essential healthcare, prolonged solitary confinement, and restrictions on exercise and access to basic needs, in clear violation of international treaties on prisoners’ rights. In this regard, CFJ calls for allowing independent human rights organizations, both local and international, to visit Egyptian prisons to monitor internal conditions and ensure compliance with humanitarian standards.
